Team News
The Reds are forced into a midfield reshuffle after Danny Drinkwater returned to Manchester United with a thigh muscle injury he sustained in last weekend’s 5-3 defeat to Ipswich. The 21 year old was replaced at Oakwell by Matty Done and the former Rochdale man could step into the breach from the start at Upton Park.
Full-back Jay McEveley is still a week away from returning to first team action after resuming light training this week.
Likely Line-Up:
Luke Steele
Bobby Hassell
Scott Wiseman
Stephen Foster
Jim McNulty
Jim O’Brien
David Perkins
Jacob Butterfield
Matty Done
Craig Davies
Ricardo Vaz Te
Head To Head
Last Six West Ham v Barnsley Results:
8/1/11 West Ham 2-0 Barnsley (FA Cup)
3/1/09 West Ham 3-0 Barnsley (FA Cup)
10/1/98 West Ham 6-0 Barnsley (Premier League)
9/8/97 Barnsley 1-2 West Ham (Premier League)
6/2/93 West Ham 1-1 Barnsley (Division One)
24/1/93 Barnsley 4-1 West Ham (FA Cup)
Overall Record:
West Ham Wins: 30
Barnsley Wins: 9
Draws: 14
West Ham Goals: 96
Barnsley Goals: 59
At Upton Park:
West Ham Wins: 22
Barnsley Wins: 2
Draws: 4
West Ham Goals: 71
Barnsley Goals: 26
This Season
Last six 2011-2012 results:
West Ham:
10/12/11 Reading 3–0 West Ham (Championship)
3/12/11 West Ham 1-2 Burnley (Championship)
29/11/11 Middlesbrough 0-2 West Ham (Championship)
26/11/11 West Ham 3-1 Derby (Championship)
19/11/11 Coventry 1-2 West Ham (Championship)
5/11/11 Hull 0-2 West Ham (Championship)
W: 4 D: 0 L: 2 F: 10 A: 7 GD: 3 Points: 12
Barnsley:
10/12/11 Barnsley 3–5 Ipswich (Championship)
6/12/11 Barnsley 2–1 Crystal Palace (Championship)
3/12/11 Peterborough 3–4 Barnsley (Championship)
26/11/11 Leeds 1–2 Barnsley (Championship)
19/11/11 Barnsley 2–0 Doncaster (Championship)
6/11/11 Brighton 2–0 Barnsley (Championship
W: 4 D: 0 L: 2 F: 13 A: 12 GD: 1 Points: 12
Interesting Stats
Both these sides go into tomorrow’s match having won four of their last six matches, with four straight wins occurring in those sequences.
The Hammers have though lost their last two matches, including defeat in their last home match- to Burnley.
That was the Hammers third home defeat of the season- and the team currently sitting in second place in the Championship table have a better record on the road than they do in front of their own supporters. They have won five of their 10 home matches, and seven of their 11 away games.
Barnsley are searching for their fourth away win of the season- and if they gain it, it will surpass the entire total of away wins they gained in the whole of 2010-2011.
If The Reds win tomorrow it will be their third successive away win after victories at Leeds and Peterborough. The last time they achieved a hat-trick of away victories it encompassed two seasons. Back in 2005-2006, The Reds won their final two away games of the season- against Walsall and Huddersfield in the Play-Offs, before winning their first two games on the road back in the Championship- at Hull and Colchester.
Barnsley have opened the scoring in 13 of their 21 matches this season. Only Cardiff have gone 1-0 up more often in the Championship in 2011-2012.
Barnsley’s hopes of achieving another win away from South Yorkshire are remote however due to an appalling record at Upton Park which has seen The Reds emerge victorious from this part of East London just twice in 28 trips, the last of which came back in October 1987 in a League Cup tie, which The Reds won 5-2! The only other came in The Reds first ever visit way back in 1919 when they triumphed 2-0, just seven days after they had thumped the Hammers 7-0 at Oakwell!
The last time these two met in league combat it was a Premier League fixture with The Reds getting thumped 6-0 in January 1998 thanks to goals from Frank Lampard, Samassi Abou (2), John Moncur, John Hartson and Stan Lazaridis. This came after the Hammers made history by becoming Barnsley’s first ever top flight opponents on the opening day of that season.
West Ham have dumped Barnsley out of the FA Cup in two of the last three seasons- both in the Third Round. In 2008-2009 West Ham won 2-0, and then last season they won 3-0.
Barnsley have not even scored a goal at Upton Park since February 1993.
West ham need four more goals to reach 100 against Barnsley.
Mad Sites
www.westhamunited-mad.co.uk
Official Sites
www.whufc.com
Other Fixtures
Bristol City v Nott'm Forest, 15:00
Cardiff v Middlesbrough, 15:00
Peterborough v Coventry, 15:00